1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to telephone answering systems, particularly to a telephone answering system that includes a processor, a memory, a CRT display, and a keyboard.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A variety of commercial telephone answering systems are known, all of which include voice couplers for controllably connecting a plurality of telephone company trunk lines (hereinafter trunks) to a plurality of respective operator headsets. Usually, approximately four trunks are coupled to the answering systems for every one hundred subscribers to a telephone answering system. Typically, four operators are provided for each four trunks. The operator answers calls coming in on the trunk coupled to their respective headsets, and takes messages for the various subscribers being called by hand writing the messages on slips of paper. The slips of paper for each subscriber are then filed in some manner which allows them to be rapidly reached by the operator when that subscriber phones for his messages. Subsequently, when a subscriber phones to get his messages, the operator then retrieves the slips of paper on which that subscriber's messages have been written and reads those messages to him. The message slips then are retained by the telephone answering service and are used for billing purposes. One known answering system uses a CRT display to display the status of the trunk lines connected to that answering system and also to display subscriber information, such as a subscriber's name and address, and any special answering instructions for a ringing line, when a call to that subscriber is answered. However, all of the known telephone answering systems require the answering operators to physically write the incoming messages on slips of paper, file the message slips, retrieve the subscriber's file of message slips when the subscriber calls in for his messages, and read the message slips over the telephone to the calling subscriber. Message slips are occasionally lost or misfiled. The times required to physically write the messages on the message slips, file them and retrieve them when the subscriber calls in are unduly great. It is inconvenient to operate the prior telephone answering systems so that an operator other than the one who places a particular caller on hold can remove that caller from hold if a predetermined hold time elapses, because the second operator does not have convenient access to the message slip on which the first operator may have written a message taken from the particular caller. Consequently, an unduly large number of operations are required for operation of known telephone answering systems. Furthermore, there are no satisfactory systems for efficiently alerting all operators if a caller remains on hold too long to thereby cause the first available operator to remove that caller from hold and finish taking his message. There is a presently unmet need for a telephone answering system which is economical and yet reduces the foregoing times required by use of the message slips.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a telephone answering system and method which obviates the need for use of paper message slips and avoids the inefficiences and errors which result from use of paper message slips.
It is another object of the invention to reduce the amount of time required for an operator to service calls in a telephone answering system.
It is another object of the invention to provide a telephone answering system and method that instantly indicates to an operator status of all trunk lines assigned to that operator and displays subscriber information corresponding to each incoming call and allows messages taken to be typed into the system, stored, and later retrieved and displayed to an operator.
It is another object of the invention to provide a telephone answering system and method which enables a subscriber to instantly receive an automatic display of messages which previously have been called into and entered into the telephone answering system.
It is another object of the invention to provide a telephone answering system and method which increases the efficiency of evaluating operator's performance and billing of subscribers.
It is another object of the invention to provide a telephone answering system and method which automatically assigns a "critical hold" status to any caller who has been on hold for more than a predetermined time, alerts all operators to that caller's status and allows the first available operator to efficiently service the caller and finish taking a message from him.
It is another object of the invention to provide a telephone answering system which can efficiently service a particular number of subscribers with fewer operators than prior telephone answering systems.